[International] [Blog/News]Inclusive Human Rights Reports Highlight Anti-Trans Abuses WorldwideNCTE commends the US State Department’s annual human rights reports to Congress for highlighting severe and growing abuses against lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people worldwide. The reports, which summarize human rights conditions in every country besides the US, are a critical tool for understanding and addressing the dire threats facing LGBT people in their daily lives in many parts of the world.

[Iran]Iranian actor returns to screens after gender reassignmentAn Iranian actor has returned to screens as a man after transitioning.Saman Arastu, who was previously known as Farzaneh, had a strong career as a woman, playing television and film roles.Now, the 42-year-old has taken advantage of Iran's liberal laws on gender reassignment after years of counselling and has returned to acting.

[India]An evolution in gender politics: A transsexual contests BBMP elections in KarnatakaVeena S a Dalit and transsexual, who is a part of various social movements fighting for the rights of minorities, sexual minorities, sex workers & women.will now be contesting the BBMP election.Praja Rajakiya Vedike (PRV), a forum for city-based activists, has nominated two of their candidates for the upcoming BBMP elections: Veena S. from Okalipuram ward and A. Derick Anil from Hebbala ward.(Photo: Veena S. is a transsexual and Dalit, and wants to bring about a change in society is contesting BBMP elections.)

[India]Transgenders say they still face ‘harassment’ in cityThe Delhi High Court’s judgment decriminalising homosexuality has hardly made any difference to the rate of gay hate crimes in the city, it was revealed at the State Consultation for MSM (Men who have Sex with Men) and Transgenders organised by MANAS Bangla in Science City today.

[New Zealand]Breach leads to jail term for transgender manA transgender man will be kept apart from other New Plymouth prison inmates for the length of his six-month prison sentence.Hina Tutaki, also known as Hendrix Waitere, was sent to jail yesterday after admitting making a break from home detention which was being served at his mother's home.Tutaki was last year given a sentence of home detention on a raft of mostly fraud-related offences. At the time, the home detention was allowed, mostly because of the tormenting the effeminate man would likely face in prison.

[Canada]Tanya Bloomfield to run Bluenose Marathon barefootedTanya Bloomfield plans to raise money for Halifax's LGBTQ community by ticking off one thing on her bucket list: running a marathon, barefoot. Bloomfield, sponsorship coordinator for Halifax Pride, hopes to raise $10,000 for Safe Harbour Metropolitan Community Church when she runs the Bluenose Marathon this May.Safe Harbour (3115 Veith Street) is a Christian organization, embracing the "Rainbow Community." Though not religious, Bloomfield, a transgendered woman herself, is impressed by the church's inclusiveness.

[Canada] [Blog/Commentary]Patent Pending: Transgender vs. TranssexualWhat is the difference between a transgender person and a transsexual person, I've been asked recently by two people.You'd think it would be an easy question to answer. Ask 10 people, and you probably will get 10 different answers. I think a lot of it is personal interpretation. But before I give my opinion, let's see what GLAAD has to say in their Media Reference Guide (link listed under Sites I Like):

[USA] [Blog/Commentary]Fighting a hate crime bill with hateYou gotta love it: An extremist political group is campaigning against a hate crimes bill with a hateful undercover video that only proves the need for just such a measure. Mass Resistance, a "pro-family action center" in Massachusetts, recently went undercover with a video camera at a transgender conference with the intention of documenting the horrors that would allegedly be introduced with the passage of a state bill outlawing gender-based discrimination and hate crimes. The supposedly damning evidence: Footage of transgender women using the ladies' restroom.[Blog/Commentary] Mass Resistance made me mad enough to vomit

[DC, USA]The State of Transgender Hate Crimes in D.C.Last month, D.C. police released a report breaking down every hate crime reported in D.C. [PDF] over the past five years. In 2007, changes to the D.C. Human Rights Act required police to begin recording hate-bias crimes motivated by the victim’s “gender identity or expression”—in other words, crimes that specifically target transgender victims. Since then, crimes against the transgender community have been the second most frequently recorded type of hate crime committed in D.C., after sexual orientation.

[LA,USA]Alexandria Police: Two men shot at prostitute when they found out 'she' was really a 'he'Alexandria Police officers arrested two men who shot at an Alexandria man early Wednesday morning after they discovered that the victim, who was dressed as a woman and had just performed sexual acts on both men, really was a man, authorities reported.The victim told police that the shooters became angry when they discovered he was a man and not a woman. The victim was not injured.

[TX, USA]SAPD officer suspended indefinitelyA San Antonio police officer has been placed on indefinite suspension after being accused of a string of misconduct, including, most recently, that he had sex with a woman in the back of his patrol car while on duty, according to city documents.Officer Christopher Martinez, 35, is the second officer accused of engaging in sexual transgressions this year while in uniform.

[Cuba]Cuba once persecuted homosexuals, transsexuals, now quietly pays for sex-change operationsLooking in the mirror used to make Yiliam Gonzalez sick to her stomach."I would see myself, and my body didn't match who I was," said the 28-year-old wedding pianist, who went by William before receiving a sex change under Cuba's universal health care system. (Photo: The Associated Press/Javier Galeano - Yiliam Gonzalez, left, speaks with her mother Janeth Anchia as they clean dishes in a friend's home in Havana. Gonzalez is one of eight transsexuals to undergo a sex change under Cuba's universal health care system.)